Forming a finFET device through an early silicon germanium (SiGe) epitaxial (epi) cut process offers an opportunity to achieve defect free elastic relaxation. One option is to use a dummy cut. However, a dummy cut requires additional masks and introduces a number of design restrictions to prevent the channel from falling into the cut region. A second option is to first use a cut mask that is parallel to the fin direction (FH) and then to use a cut mask that is perpendicular to the fin direction (FC). However, starting with the FH cut mask can damage the end of the fins due to the etch load effect. Consequently, fins at the end of the array will have a different critical dimension (CD) or profile relative to the fins towards the center of the array.
A need therefore exists for methodology enabling uniform fin CD and profile without requiring additional masks or introducing significant design restrictions, and the resulting device.